Atomic Structure Flashcards

1
Q

Mass number

A

Total number of protons and neutrons

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2
Q

Atomic number

A

The number of protons in an atom of an element

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3
Q

Isotope

A

Atoms with the same number of protons but different number of neutrons

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4
Q

JJ Thompson

A

Plum pudding -

Atom consisted of positive “dough” with negative electrons

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5
Q

Ernest Rutherford

A

Gold foil experiment (Nuclear model of the atom) -

Shoot alpha particles at a gold foil to see if they go through or bounce back, as a result, he discovered the nucleus

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6
Q

Niels Bohr

A

Electrons orbiting -

He discovered that electrons orbit the nucleus at a fixed distance

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7
Q

James Chadwick

A

Neutron -

He discovered the neutron

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8
Q

Alpha particle

A

Contain two neutrons and two protons (helium atom)

Low penetration as they are big, heavy and slow

Stop quickly when traveling through the air

However, they are strongly ionising (when they collide with atoms to create ions)

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9
Q

Beta particles

A

They are electrons

Move quite fast and are small

Penetrate moderately and have a long-range in the air with their ionising ability being moderate

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10
Q

Gamma rays

A

They are very short-wavelength electromagnetic waves

Penetrate far into materials and pass straight through the air, therefore they are weakly ionising

They have no mass or charge

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11
Q

Radioactive

A

A substance containing unstable nuclei that becomes stable by emitting radiation

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12
Q

Background radiation

A

Radiation that is present at all times

E.g. food (bananas), x-rays, and cosmic rays from the Sun

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13
Q

Half-life

A

The time taken for the number of radioactive nuclei in a substance to halve

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14
Q

Carbon dating

A

Uses radioactive carbon to identify the age of organic material

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15
Q

Uses of nuclear radiation

A

Medicine

X-rays

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16
Q

Nuclear fission

A

Neutron hits the uranium nucleus

Uranium nucleus splits into smaller nuclei and some more neutrons

These neutrons hits more uranium nuclei and the process continues

17
Q

Nuclear fusion

A

When two small, light nuclei join together to make one heavy nucleus

18
Q

Contamination

A

Occurs if an object has a radioactive material introduced into (or onto) it

A contaminated object will be radioactive for as long as the source is on or in it

Once an object is contaminated, the radiation cannot be blocked from it

19
Q

Irradiation

A

Occurs when an object is exposed to a source of radiation outside the object

Doesn’t cause the object to become radioactive

Can be blocked with suitable shielding or moving away